


A Promise in Ink

by bethejohn2mysherlock



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Not quite Unilock, Super Sexy John, Super sexy Sherlock, Tattoos, everyone is super sexy, tatoo artist Sherlock, tattoolock, younger John and Sherlock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-04-17 16:46:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4674065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethejohn2mysherlock/pseuds/bethejohn2mysherlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John has known Sherlock for a while, ever since he moved to London for college and needed a little touch-up on one of his tattoos. John's been a regular client of Sherlock's ever since, though lately it's been more than just small talk between the two. When John comes in with his latest idea for a tattoo, things between the two start to become a little more obvious, especially when Sherlock shows John a few ideas of his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be a birthday fic for my friend Katelyn (panad-are-badasses.tumblr.com)... her birthday was in May... but I still finished the first chapter! When I started this I didn't know that it was going to end up being this complex. I probably won't update very regularly, but I'll update as soon as possible! Just stick with me, we're on this journey together! Also thank you to my amazing editor Katie (thetenantoftennant.tumblr.com) without you, this story and all of my others would be complete shit so thank you for making me seem way better than I am! Anyways, Please enjoy! :)

John was excited as he walked down the street. He was getting another tattoo today, and he would be seeing Sherlock. He had asked Sherlock specifically if he would do this one for him, as it was another way to tell him his big news… pretty soon, he would be leaving for the army. He had turned in his papers a while ago, but just last month he had gotten a letter saying that he would be needed and would be shipped out in a couple months. That was only a month and a little bit away now, and it was finally time that he told Sherlock. He walked into the store, and there Sherlock was behind the counter, waiting for him. His hair in its usual messy spike and tank top showing off his arms.

“John!” he exclaimed. To anyone else it would sound like a normal greeting, but for John it was an indication of excitement.

“Hullo, Sherlock,” John smiled, taking off his coat and walking up to the counter. “You sound excited.”

Sherlock let out a breath, “I’ve been waiting all day for this, I’m excited to do your new one, like I always am,” he said, blushing a bit as he ran a hand through the not buzzed part of his hair. Bits of purple peeked through the midnight hue of Sherlock’s hair. The younger man led John back to his station.

“All day? Sherlock really, it’s nothing to be on your toes for,” John said, rolling his eyes as he followed Sherlock.

Sherlock looked John over as the young man sat in his chair, “You’ve gotten your hair cut since last time… all of the blue is gone,” he said a bit sadly, but not for anyone to notice.

“Yes, well I thought it was time for something new… and a bit more… normal this time I guess,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh… I see,” Sherlock said, going a bit quiet at the thought. John wanted normal? Since when? Sherlock let it pass, “Well, what are we doing today?” he asked, getting everything ready.

“Oh…” John said, now a bit nervous as he pulled the piece of paper from his back pocket. “This… on my bicep where there’s the space there,” he said gently.

Sherlock took the piece of folded paper and opened it. On the sheet was the badge of the RAMC. “What significance does this have?” he asked, not wanting to make any assumptions.

“Ah… this is also why I wanted you to do this, Sherlock, so that I could tell you… this next month I’m leaving for the military… into the Medical Corps,” John murmured.

“When did you even sign up for the military?” Sherlock asked, a bit frustrated that he hadn’t deduced this a long time ago.

“Before I started college,” John admitted.

“So years ago… and you hadn’t bothered to tell me until you were just about to leave,” Sherlock asked, still a bit upset. He didn’t know what to think… John had never really been more than… a client but their relationship seemed to have grown into something akin to friendship, if not a bit more, over the last few tattoos John had gotten from him.

John sighed, “I didn’t think they were really going to take me. I mean, it’s been years. I’m almost done with medical school and they asked for me. I have to serve my country, Sherlock, and apparently they’re in heavy need of doctors out there.”

“Well… at least we know they only look for the best,” Sherlock grinned gently.

John chuckled at that, “Thank you, Sherlock, I don’t think I could ever get a higher compliment.”

Sherlock chuckled as well, “Well, you did fix me up after that needle incident last time.”

“Yes, well, thankfully, that was something small and it happened at the very end of the procedure.”

“You’re lucky I kept it together the whole time, I mean really, John, a hedgehog on your arse?” Sherlock asked with a giant smirk and raised eyebrows.

“It seemed like a fun idea at the time… and I still don’t regret it,” John smiled widely.

“And neither do I, that is one of the best tattoos I’ve ever done, if I do say so myself,” Sherlock smirked. “And I got to find a new tattoo or two that I didn’t know you had… like that pesky tramp stamp, John Watson?”

“I was very drunk at a bachelor party,” John tried to defend himself, “The boys thought it was a good idea as well. It’s not like I don’t like it or regret it, I don’t regret any of them.”

“Well, let’s get on with this one so that you don’t regret it either,” Sherlock said, taking the paper. He went to go make the transfer for the tattoo. He couldn’t be more excited. Every time John came into the shop was something like an adventure. Even though the design was a bit… heartbreaking… it was quite beautiful. The military knew what they were doing when designing their crests. God was he going to miss John, he could hardly bare it. John was… so much more than a client now, though they had never seen each other anywhere other than the shop.  He took his time transferring the design; he wanted John here with him for as long as possible. He looked back to check on him, smirked and turned back to his work.

John sat in the chair anxiously. This was probably the last time he’d see Sherlock in a very long time. Though he’d probably stop back in while on leave for something. There would be so many new experiences for him overseas; he was sure that he would have new memories to etch into his skin. He watched Sherlock while the younger man was working. Jesus was that man gorgeous. John had thought that he had been a very straight, heterosexual man, until he had met Sherlock, that is. Now he was noticing men all over the place, though it had never been the same feeling with those other men. He may have thought that they were attractive, but he could never seem to get the same feeling by looking at anyone else. He watched as the man’s arse swayed naturally. Those hips… that arse… Get ahold of yourself, Watson! he yelled internally. John sighed, this bloody man will be in my thoughts the whole time I’m away, won’t he? John shook his head, he would just have to accept it. He smiled a bit at the thought, “Close to being done, Sherlock?”

John loved getting tattoos. It was oddly calming and the pain never really bothered him. He didn’t have many, but a couple that he had had taken a very long time and were incredibly detailed. He also loved the opportunity to have conversation with Sherlock; the man was so good at multitasking. “So, Sherlock, I’ve only seen three of your tattoos, do you have any more besides the ones that I can see?”

Sherlock chuckled, “Oh, a few more… but which ones have you seen so that I know which ones you have yet to explore.”

“Well, you’ve got the violin on your forearm there, and the honey bee on your arm over there, and then there’s the honeycomb cluster on your shoulder, and your whole DNA tree,” John gestured. “And I’ve seen a part of what’s on your back, but never all of it… I can’t quite tell what it is,” he admitted.

Sherlock grinned, “Well, you’ve got over half of them. I have two more besides the one on my back, and I’m working out the designs for a few more.”

“So will I ever get to see these other inks?” John asked hopefully.

“Perhaps someday you’ll be privileged enough to get a glance,” Sherlock smiled softly. He loved this small amount of time he had with John. He loved the way he got to know him, and his body for that matter, through the pictures he was engraving into his skin. The hedgehog was a little odd, but he had been the one to put the Rod of Asclepius on his forearm and he had done the touch ups to the London skyline across the man’s shoulders. He couldn’t wait to fill up the rest of the space John had to offer. He had been thinking of designs to put on the the older man’s chest and back, if he would be so willing. “You know… I’ve been working on a few designs for you… and after we’re done with this one, if you would like, I have time to put one of them on you,” Sherlock said, a bit sheepishly.

“Designs? Oh, Sherlock, I never asked you to do that… but I am so game, where are they for?” John asked, excitedly.

“Well… the one I like most is for your chest, if you’d like to see it and the other is.. well, it could go anywhere I suppose. But the one I have… I really think you’ll like it,” Sherlock said, nervous but excited.

“Then I would like to get it done today if that’s possible,” John grinned.

Sherlock nodded, “I don’t have any other clients after you, so you can just stay here.”

“Perfect.” John settled a bit further into the chair, excited and at ease that he would be sitting there for a good long while.

They made quiet small talk for a little while as Sherlock worked, talking about what they had been doing lately and what John would be doing in the military. Soon Sherlock was done with the first tattoo, “There you are,” he said with a grin.

John examined his arm, “God… Sherlock, this is perfect,” he said, tears almost coming to his eyes.

“Well, let me clean it a bit, and then I’ll show you my design.” Sherlock cleaned him up quickly and came over with the big design. In the middle was a crest with a lion in it, “For your zodiac sign and your strange love for Harry Potter; I know you’re a Gryffindor so…” Sherlock babbled. On the sides of the crest was a pair of wings. “Now… I know it’s big but I have an idea. I’ll do the middle, the crest now, and you can’t get the wings until you come back to me safely,” he bargained.

John’s mouth was agape. He couldn’t believe that someone had designed something so wonderful for him. “This is amazing, Sherlock,” he breathed. “It’s perfect… you know me… so well this is just amazing!” John marveled. He couldn’t stop praising the design.

Sherlock blushed a deep red, “The idea just came to me while I was thinking one night… I had to draw it for you. So you really want it?”

John nodded vigorously, “Oh yeah, and I’ll take you up on that offer, too. I promise to come back in one piece to finish it.”

“Well then sit back, I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Sherlock grinned, getting all of his stuff ready again.

“I can’t wait,” John grinned.

****It took almost two hours to get the design done and colored in, and Sherlock had never been more proud of a design he had done. “Perfect,” Sherlock grinned as he pulled away.

John looked down, “Do you have a mirror?” he asked.

Sherlock nodded, bringing the hand held mirror over for him to see, “Better?” he asked with a smirk.

“Oh, Sherlock, that’s gorgeous,” John grinned, touching it gently.

Sherlock glared at him, “Don’t mess with it,” he chastised, “You don’t want to mess with it.”

John nodded, moving his hand away, “Right… so sorry. Sherlock… it really is perfect. I love it. Thank you…” That was it, that tattoo was what tipped the scale, he had to do something with this man... he was so much more than his tattoo artist now.

Sherlock blushed, “I’ll clean it up a bit and then you can pay and get on your way.” he said, moving to clean it with the solution. Once he was done he moved away from John, “Alright… all done.” He walked John up to the front to pay for it.

Once John was done paying and getting the aftercare instructions that Sherlock was required to give him and the aftercare kit, he paused before leaving. “You’re off now, right?” he asked.

Sherlock nodded as he went back to clean up his station. “Yes, you were my last appointment of the day.”

John checked his watch it’s now or never, Johnny, you better get on it, “How about joining me for dinner? In about an hour to give you time to get everything cleaned up and such.”

Sherlock stopped what he was doing, blinking to look up at John, “Oh um… that… sure.” he stumbled.

John chuckled and grabbed Sherlock’s phone from its spot next to his station, “Here’s my number, you pick the place and text me where, alright? If you need more time that’s fine, just text me if you’ll be longer.”

Sherlock blinked at him again, “Yeah…. alright… I’ll text you… soonish or actually… how about you just meet me at my flat, the address is 221B Baker Street,” he stumbled around nervously.

John grinned, “Perfect, I'll see you in a bit then.” With that, he walked out the door, heading home to get ready.

Sherlock stood staring for a few minutes as he watched John head out the door and hail a cab. Once he knew the man was gone, he quickly cleaned up everything and headed home to get ready. “Oh God… a date with John! Was this a date? Maybe it wasn’t even a date, but treat it as a date anyway you never know what it could be.” rushed through his head like a bullet through open air. He hurried home, rushing into his flat and passed his landlady Mrs. Hudson.

“Oh, Sherlock, dear, you’re home,” she grinned.

“No time, Mrs. Hudson, I have to get ready,” he said as he rushed up the stairs.

“Oh, for what dear?”

“Something that could quite possibly be a date,” he said in a rushed voice but with a small smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah it's finally up! I had a different friend edit for me this time and I fixed things right away and got it up quickly. Thank you guys for being so patient!

Sherlock texted John once he was ready a little over an hour later. It had taken him a lot longer to choose an outfit than he had planned. He wanted to look nice, but he didn’t want to go too far. He had finally decided on a white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, and a black vest with a pair of his nicer dark jeans. It had also taken him a while to restyle his hair after his shower. He was so finicky,  and this was for John! He finally looked himself over in the mirror; “It could be worse,” he sighed softly, putting on a few finishing touches by adorning a few bracelets and a new set of earrings. He finally decided that it was good enough and set to watch the sidewalk from the window of the flat.

Ten minutes later John pulled up in a cab. Sherlock quickly made his way down the stairs, “I’m going out, Mrs. Hudson. I don’t know when I’ll be back,” He called out.

“Have a good time, Love,” Mrs. Hudson called back as he walked out the door.

Sherlock smiled at that; he was glad to have Mrs. Hudson there for him. He smiled even wider when he saw John come out of the car. The shorter man was wearing a navy shirt, sleeves rolled up and a thin white tie and some skinny jeans. “Hello, John,” Sherlock breathed out.

When John got out of the cab and saw Sherlock his breath caught in his throat. “Jesus,” he muttered under his breath, praying that the sexy man in front of him hadn’t heard. “You um… you look great,” he said awkwardly. Was he supposed to say something like that? Was it a date… yes, it was a date. He had asked Sherlock out on a date so it was perfectly fine to complement the man on his heart stopping looks and attire.

Sherlock raised his eyebrows in a bit of surprise, “Oh… uh thank you,” he said quite ungracefully. “You do as well,” he commented, his hand running through his hair as it did when he felt a tad uncomfortable. “Ah… I figured out a place to eat, and if it’s alright with you I’d like to walk.”

John pumped his fist in his mind, a walk meant more time with him, “Sure, it’s a nice night out,” he shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. He paid the cabbie and let him go, “So… where are we eating tonight?”

Sherlock smiled, “I hope Italian is alright. There’s a little corner place, amazing food and the owner absolutely adores me.”

“Sounds perfect, Italian is one of my favorites,” John said happily, “Lead the way.” They walked down to the restaurant, it only being a few blocks away. They made idle small talk and it was actually a lot less awkward than either of them had anticipated.

“Here we are,” Sherlock announced as they rounded a corner. The place was rather small, just big enough for four booths and four smaller tables.

“Quaint,” John grinned. He was glad Sherlock hadn’t picked somewhere overly extravagant, he had planned on paying and he didn’t really have enough money for a fancy restaurant. The two of them walked into the small restaurant, and a man who John could only assume was the owner walked up to them very excited.

“Sherlock!” Angelo greeted the two, “It’s been too long, you know. You said you would come by more often.”

Sherlock chuckled with a smirk, “Sorry, I’ve been busy with my other job. Not too many stakeouts to conduct.”

Angelo rolled his eyes, “You and your tattoos. It’s almost like you enjoy it more than catching criminals.”

“Oh, I think they’re about even,” Sherlock promised. “Angelo, this is John… a friend.”

Angelo’s eyes widened a bit, “Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t even notice you standing there. Well, let me find a good table for you and your date, Sherlock,” he said with a small smile. He led them to a corner booth right next to the window. “I’ll be right back with menus and a candle for your table, more romantic you know,” he said with a wink.

John was about to comment how it didn’t matter that the man hadn’t noticed them when they were being led to the table. He blushed at the mention of the candle and it’s romanticness, but didn’t say anything against it. “Well… he certainly is friendly… but… catching criminals?” he asked, very curious.

Sherlock turned his head away, not sure if he wanted to talk to John about that yet, but he supposed it was going to happen eventually. “Being a tattoo artist isn’t my only job. I’m also a consulting detective. The only one in the world. I invented the job.”

“And what does that mean?” John asked, extremely confused.

Sherlock smiled, “It means whenever the police are out of their depth- which is always- they consult me.”

John shook his head, but he was grinning, “The police don’t consult amateurs.”

“I notice everything about you, new and different whenever you come in for a new tattoo. I knew everything about you and your family that first time you came in to get your skyline updated. I knew what you were going to college for and I could tell that you worked at a coffee shop as a side job.”

“Yes and how did you know all of those things?” John asked, remembering how amazed he had been when Sherlock had picked apart everything about him those times.

“I notice things. I could tell you smelled of coffee and I could tell by the circles under your eyes that you stayed up late studying. That meant that you were studying something pretty difficult. You talked about St. Bart’s, so you had to be going to school for medicine. I knew about your sister from your phone, as I told you the day we met, and knew about your parents from the way you reacted when you talked about your childhood with Harry. I notice everything, John… except I couldn’t tell that you had enlisted in the military… that one I am a little peeved about.”

“God… that’s amazing,” John bursted out. He had a huge smile on his face, Sherlock was absolutely fascinating.

“Do… do you really think so?” he asked the shorter man.

John nodded vigorously, “God yes, absolutely extraordinary.”

Sherlock blushed, “That’s not what people normally say…”

John smirked, “What do they usually say?”

“Piss off.” The two busted out laughing just as Angelo brought them their menus and the candle for their table.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Angelo said, “But just call me over when you’re ready to order. And everything is on the house, for you and your date, Sherlock.”

“Oh that’s really not necessary,” John said. He really had been planning to pay tonight.   
“Nonsense, every time Sherlock comes in it’s complementary. The boy got me off of a murder charge! He gets free meals whenever he’s here, and tonight, for you too,” Angelo said with finality before walking back to the counter.

John looked stunned, “A murder charge?” he asked.  
Sherlock nodded, “He had been accused for the murder but I proved that he was trying to steal a car on the complete opposite side of town. So he still got jail time, but a significantly smaller amount.”

“Incredible,” John said again.

“Do you know you’re doing that out loud?” Sherlock asked with a smirk.

The smaller man blushed deeply, “Sorry…”

“No, it’s… it’s perfectly alright. I’ll have to take you on a case sometime, hopefully before you’re shipped out.”

“That’d be amazing. I’d love to watch you work. Now… I’m absolutely starving… what’s good here?” he asked.

“I’m partial to the ravioli and the tortellini, but anything Angelo makes is good,” Sherlock promised.

A few minutes later Sherlock waved Angelo back to the table, “I think we’re ready to order, yes, John?”

John nodded, “Yes. I will have the fettuccine with vegetables.”

“And I’ll have the three cheese tortellini,” Sherlock smiled, handing Angelo the menus, “and a white wine to accompany the dishes.”

Angelo smiled, “Excellent choices, I’ll be right out with that.”

John and Sherlock continued to make idle conversation, Sherlock promising to call John the next time he had a case so that he could observe and perhaps go out on a chase with him.

Their meal came about twenty minutes later. “God this smells amazing,” John grinned.

Sherlock smiled, “Angelo knows what he’s doing,” he assured him. He took a bite of his pasta and hummed in pleasure as he looked over at John to watch his reaction.

John’s eyes closed the second he tasted his meal, “Oh Jesus that’s amazing,” he said with a mouthful.

Sherlock chuckled, “I told you. Have you found a new favorite Italian place, then?”

The shorter man nodded vigorously, “Oh yeah, this is the best I’ve had in my life. So do you just eat out all the time, or do you cook as well?”

Sherlock sighed, “To be honest, I don’t normally eat on a regular basis. When I’m on a case I tend to be too distracted to remember to eat and also it slows down my mental function, just like sleeping will disturb my process during a case.”

John nearly dropped his fork when he heard Sherlock’s poor health choices, “Well… how often do you have a case?”

“Usually about once a month, and it can last between two days to two weeks at the minimum,” Sherlock explained.

John shook his head, “That would explain how you’re so stick thin. That isn’t exactly healthy, Sherlock.”

The other man shrugged, “I’ve gotten a bit better since I got clean. When I did drugs, a year or so ago, I was never hungry, and I overdosed and was so malnourished that my brother had to take me in immediately, or I probably would have died.”

John’s mouth was agape, “How come I didn’t know any of this?” he asked,  rather peeved that the younger man hadn’t told him any of this information.

Sherlock shrugged, “I was never really high when I would go to work at the tattoo parlor. I mean, I usually used before I got there, but once my tolerance grew high enough the little bit that I did would only maybe numb my mind a bit and keep me from blurting out whatever I was thinking, never enough to make it look like I was truly high.”

“Sherlock…” John was practically speechless, why hadn’t he been able to see it before? He was going to med school for god’s sake! “Jesus I wish I would have known…”

Sherlock scoffed, “What would you have done, John? Tell me to stop? Tell me that you’d help me get better?” he shook his head, “It may not have been completely my choice to get clean, but I was ready when my brother took me in. And I would have gone back to it if I had been forced to do anything.”

John nodded, “I know you’re right… but I just feel awful for not having noticed anything…” he sighed deeply.

The taller man shrugged, “So what, John. You’re human. And as amazing as you are you’re not perfect, it even took my brother quite a while to notice that I was using, so you don’t need to be too upset about it,” he reassured John.

“Alright… yeah… I won’t forget about it, but I’ll try to get over it,” he promised him. “So… this brother of yours. You talk about him an awful lot for supposedly hating him,” John smirked.

Sherlock’s small smile suddenly fell to a frown, “He’s very manipulating and nosy, always in my business and trying to control my life. I wish that he would get a life of his own so that he would leave mine alone.”

John looked at the other curiously, “What do you mean when you say he controls your life?”

“Well he’s trying to support me with family money and he tried to supply me with a fancy flat and just all of this other stuff that I don’t need. You see he holds a small role in the British Government, and he thinks that means he can do whatever the hell he wants,” he explained, getting a bit irritated.

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that,” John frowned, “have you told him to bugger off?”

“Oh you have no idea how often I’ve told him!” Sherlock said, “I think he’s starting to learn, though. Now that I have a stable income and I have a place to live I don’t think he’s too worried about me anymore, which is good because I was getting so sick of him.”

“Well, he really is just trying to look out for you,” John said softly, trying to defend the man he hadn’t met before.  
Sherlock rolled his eyes, “John… if you ever do meet him, which I’m sure you will, you will understand that the man is really not doing anything to help, he only manipulates.”

The other man shrugged and sighed, “Alright, I understand. My sister isn’t exactly the best person in the world either, but I’m sure you’ve deduced that already.”

“Ah yes… Harry… an alcoholic, yes?” he asked. “And married now, is she not?”

John nodded, “Yes, how you do that I will never know, but that’s right on both accounts.”  
Sherlock grinned happily, “Of course I am.” He checked his phone, “Now, how about desert before we head out for a walk?” he suggested, a bit nervously.   
John cleared his throat but smiled wide, “I think that sounds like a great idea. Angelo? Could we get a dessert menu?”

 


End file.
